Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66[a]
For the music director, a song, a psalm.
66 Shout out praise to God, all the earth!
2 Sing praises about the majesty of his reputation.[b]
Give him the honor he deserves![c]
3 Say to God:
“How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear[d] before you.
4 All the earth worships[e] you
and sings praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” (Selah)
5 Come and witness[f] God’s exploits![g]
His acts on behalf of people are awesome.[h]
6 He turned the sea into dry land;[i]
they passed through the river on foot.[j]
Let us rejoice in him there.[k]
7 He rules[l] by his power forever;
he watches[m] the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt[n] themselves. (Selah)
8 Praise[o] our God, you nations.
Loudly proclaim his praise.[p]
9 He preserves our lives[q]
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For[r] you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
11 You led us into a trap;[s]
you caused us to suffer.[t]
12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place.[u]
13 I will enter[v] your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
14 which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God.[w]
I will declare what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him for help[x]
and praised him with my tongue.[y]
18 If I had harbored sin in my heart,[z]
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
20 God deserves praise,[aa]
for[ab] he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me.[ac]
Psalm 67[ad]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.
67 May God show us his favor[ae] and bless us.[af]
May he smile on us.[ag] (Selah)
2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;
all nations will know how you deliver your people.[ah]
3 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[ai]
4 Let foreigners[aj] rejoice and celebrate.
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth.[ak] (Selah)
5 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[al]
6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us.
7 May God bless us.[am]
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves.[an]
Psalm 19[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God;[b]
the sky displays his handiwork.[c]
2 Day after day it speaks out;[d]
night after night it reveals his greatness.[e]
3 There is no actual speech or word,
nor is its[f] voice literally heard.
4 Yet its voice[g] echoes[h] throughout the earth;
its[i] words carry[j] to the distant horizon.[k]
In the sky[l] he has pitched a tent for the sun.[m]
5 Like a bridegroom it emerges[n] from its chamber;[o]
like a strong man it enjoys[p] running its course.[q]
6 It emerges from the distant horizon,[r]
and goes from one end of the sky to the other;[s]
nothing can escape[t] its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life.[u]
The rules set down by the Lord[v] are reliable[w]
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced.[x]
8 The Lord’s precepts are fair[y]
and make one joyful.[z]
The Lord’s commands[aa] are pure[ab]
and give insight for life.[ac]
9 The commands to fear the Lord are right[ad]
and endure forever.[ae]
The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy
and absolutely just.[af]
10 They are of greater value[ag] than gold,
than even a great amount of pure gold;
they bring greater delight[ah] than honey,
than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.
11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there;[ai]
those who obey them receive a rich reward.[aj]
12 Who can know all his errors?[ak]
Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of.[al]
13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins;[am]
do not allow such sins to control me.[an]
Then I will be blameless,
and innocent of blatant[ao] rebellion.
14 May my words and my thoughts
be acceptable in your sight,[ap]
O Lord, my sheltering rock[aq] and my redeemer.[ar]
Psalm 46[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style;[b] a song.
46 God is our strong refuge;[c]
he is truly our helper in times of trouble.[d]
2 For this reason we do not fear[e] when the earth shakes,[f]
and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,[g]
3 when its waves[h] crash[i] and foam,
and the mountains shake[j] before the surging sea.[k] (Selah)
4 The river’s channels bring joy to the city of God,[l]
the special, holy dwelling place of[m] the Most High.[n]
5 God lives within it,[o] it cannot be moved.[p]
God rescues it[q] at the break of dawn.[r]
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown.[s]
God[t] gives a shout,[u] the earth dissolves.[v]
7 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side.[w]
The God of Jacob[x] is our stronghold.[y] (Selah)
8 Come, Witness the exploits[z] of the Lord,
who brings devastation to the earth.[aa]
9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth.[ab]
He shatters[ac] the bow and breaks[ad] the spear;
he burns[ae] the shields with fire.[af]
10 He says,[ag] “Stop your striving and recognize[ah] that I am God.
I will be exalted[ai] over[aj] the nations! I will be exalted over[ak] the earth!”
11 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side![al]
The God of Jacob[am] is our stronghold![an] (Selah)
16 At the end of seven days the Lord’s message came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman[a] for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’[b] and you do not warn him—you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked lifestyle so that he may live—that wicked person will die for his iniquity,[c] but I will hold you accountable for his death.[d] 19 But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life.[e]
20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle[f] before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 21 However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he[g] does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.”
Isolated and Silenced
22 The hand[h] of the Lord rested on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the valley,[i] and I will speak with you there.” 23 So I got up and went out to the valley, and the glory of the Lord was standing there, just like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River,[j] and I threw myself face down.
24 Then a wind[k] came into me and stood me on my feet. The Lord[l] spoke to me and said, “Go shut yourself in your house. 25 As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and tie you up with them, so you cannot go out among them. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to reprove[m] them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue[n] and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse,[o] for they are a rebellious house.
New Life Individually
2 And although you were[a] dead[b] in your offenses and sins, 2 in which[c] you formerly lived[d] according to this world’s present path,[e] according to the ruler of the domain[f] of the air, the ruler of[g] the spirit[h] that is now energizing[i] the sons of disobedience,[j] 3 among whom[k] all of us[l] also[m] formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath[n] even as the rest…[o]
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 even though we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved![p]— 6 and he raised us up together with him and seated us together with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 to demonstrate in the coming ages[q] the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward[r] us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you are saved[s] through faith,[t] and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from[u] works, so that no one can boast.[v] 10 For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.[w]
24 “A disciple is not greater than his teacher, nor a slave[a] greater than his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much worse will they call[b] the members of his household!
Fear God, Not Man
26 “Do[c] not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden[d] that will not be revealed,[e] and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear,[f] proclaim from the housetops.[g] 28 Do[h] not be afraid of those who kill the body[i] but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.[j] 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny?[k] Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.[l] 30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 31 So do not be afraid;[m] you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Whoever, then, acknowledges[n] me before people, I will acknowledge[o] before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.
Rewards
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.[a] 41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever[b] receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones[c] in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth,[d] he will never lose his reward.”
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